im confused about how comps work

[LT72884]

If that's all it takes step up to the plate and show everyone how easy it is.:roll:

thasts what i was trying to say. It aint as easy as i ORIGINALLY thought it was. That was my point with that statement. IE, some think bbq is burgers and hot dogs while others think bbq is ribs from a crock pot. While others think you can throw as much wood on a fire, GET AS MUCH SMOKE AS YOU CAN AND POUR SAUCE ON IT. I mean more is better right. Thats what that was referring to. Thats how i first started bbq. ill admit it. i thought bbq was burgers and stuff. The first piece of meat i ever smoked. i used a whole bag of mesquite chips on a chuck roast and i did not do low and slow. i cooked it till 150 over hot coals. haha.

It aint easy. I know that. I am not arguing that. I was just trying to figure out how how things worked. I did not know that it was based off trends, nor did i know it was based on the each judges particular like and taste. If one like sweet and i like spicy, well, im screwed. haha.

Plus apparently things i have heard going around my area must be two things, either truth or its team smack. haha.

thanks for the helping me learn and by me learning, that is a huge step up to the plate. haha. I actually want to learn the correct way and what not. Hence why i asked this question today.

 

[DaveAlvarado]

Plus apparently things i have heard going around my area must be two things, either truth or its team smack. haha.

My money is on team smack. If a competitor isn't your close personal friend and you didn't give them money, you're probably not hearing the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And if one of those *is* true, you're only hearing one side of the story.

 

[Alexa RnQ]

Cool. For some reason I had expected them to be using a large tow behind smoker.

Pfffffftt. See that 18 at front right? That's the one where the 180 brisket rode.

 

[LT72884]

My money is on team smack. If a competitor isn't your close personal friend and you didn't give them money, you're probably not hearing the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And if one of those *is* true, you're only hearing one side of the story.

Yup, always two sides to a coin. Thanks for clearing this up.

ok so i am going back to another point. Ok, anyone here ever given their comp Q to family? What happened?

I have what i think is a ballanced rub. I have been emailing Paul kirk and he has been helping me and i have his book. So to me it is ballanced. I like it and what not, but i dont know how well others would like it. because others want hot or sweet. thats the drift im cathing here.. right haha

 

[Jason TQ]

Let me explain the buying thing. This is what i am confused about. So there were 3 teams competing and all three have won championships. So apparently ( i have not done comp yet so im still learning) one of the teams would walk around and try and pay the other teams to withdraw so they could buy there spot and have a possible gurentee to win. 4 spots available and one team had purchased 3 and paid others to withdraw...... Thats why i asked if it is political or not hahaha. Sorry for confusion. Not trying to accuse but it seems odd to me.

Huh??

Do you have first hand knowledge of this actually occurring or just regurgitating what someone said second hand? Sounds like a bait and troll story. There have been other threads with this type of ambiguous hearsay about strange goings on at comps just to create debate.

That would be about the craziest thing I've heard of in competitions. I can't believe a team would pay thousands to have other teams not compete. Especially because that still doesn't guarantee anything.

But it did give me a good chuckle so thanks. :thumb:

 

[didisea]

Probably the best thing for you and your friend to do is to judge at least 2-5 contests so that you can taste what other teams are turning in. See what the boxes look like, and from the judging class, gain an understanding on what you are being judged on.

You need to open your mind, and erase some of the preconceived notions that you have picked up which have lead you down a strange path.

You could also see if you could find a mentor team to hang out with for a few contests.

BBQ is like sex, the biggest equipment doesn't make you a great lover.

 

[TailGateJoecom]

yeah CO has way more comps that UT for sure haha. We have like 4 a year if that.

yes his does not have sugar, he is from gulf of mexico and they dont put sugar or alot of it in the rub.

I have tasted comp bbq 3 times and thats it. My reference to "anyone can pour sugar over meat" was in relation to the judge who posted saying how sweet people nowadays makes it.

Yeah they dont compete alot. 3 champions but still, champion is pretty good.

Oh yeah, the money thing was mostly about teams trying to buy out some of the other teams. i thought that was interesting and didnt know you could actually do that. haha

But my main question is what can he do to be ready for next year?

Balanced rub for sure.
practice.
join the bbq brethren
be more positive and etc.

thanks guys. Just trying to see how everything works.

What exactly do you mean by a team buying another team out???

 

[TailGateJoecom]

This thread is giving me much head pain.

 

[BigBellyBBQ]

man, thats gonna be tough to do. what tastes balanced to me my be not enough sweet for another. haha. Guess im gonna go with one cup salts to one cup sugar ratios. balance it mathematically. haha

I have my spice guy hot on this! Have to test the ph level though..

 

[Lake Dogs]

Probably the best thing for you and your friend to do is to judge at least 2-5 contests so that you can taste what other teams are turning in. See what the boxes look like, and from the judging class, gain an understanding on what you are being judged on.

You need to open your mind, and erase some of the preconceived notions that you have picked up which have lead you down a strange path.

You could also see if you could find a mentor team to hang out with for a few contests.

BBQ is like sex, the biggest equipment doesn't make you a great lover.

+1 above. As much as we can describe the different aspects of it, you'll never come away with anything accurate without experiencing it first hand. Go, judge. That will probably answer 80% of your questions.

 

[DaveAlvarado]

ok so i am going back to another point. Ok, anyone here ever given their comp Q to family? What happened?

If you're serious about competition, you have to practice, and *somebody* has to eat all that Q.

When I started practicing when I thought I wanted to compete, I had a ton of BBQ parties and fed stuff to all my friends, rotating through different groups so nobody got burned out. Everybody loved it.

I took a class and talked with a bunch of other guys who compete. Their families loved the delicious Q at first, but generally they were burned out on it. Your first comp brisket slice or rib tastes fantastic. But by your 200th, you're ready to order a pizza.

That's one of the reasons I decided not to compete. If you want to win, you have to take your Q a little more seriously than I'm comfortable with. It was a good learning experience and I cook a LOT better now than when I first got interested, but I'm going to stick to cooking for friends and family so BBQ stays fun for me.

Oh and the other reason is that what wins in TX is not what I like to eat, so I'd be cooking a ton of food I'm not particularly interested in.

 

[ITBFQ]

ok so i am going back to another point. Ok, anyone here ever given their comp Q to family? What happened?

They asked for seconds.

 

[big matt]

The two teams you mention are two of the best in the west..R&R BBQ is hands down without question the best comp team to come out of Utah..period!..the second place team RNQ is the best team to come out of Az and had won more than any other Az team..ever!..these statements aren't a put down or insult to the other teams in those states..those are just the facts plain and simple..not at all surprised to see them both at the top at this comp..as far as someone "buying" other spots so others couldn't enter is two things..utterly stupid and completely irrelevant to winning..and lastly your food is in a blind box that goes to 6 random people and this happens 4 times(for a total of 24 people)and that food needs to be right in the middle to win..by that I mean a nice BBQ balance.

 

[Lake Dogs]

Ok, anyone here ever given their comp Q to family? What happened?

In MBN, when I'm not cooking a whole hog in addition to all of this, we'll cook 8 or 9 20-22# whole shoulders and usually a case of baby backs (tends to be around 13). If we make finals we have a lot of leftovers, but if we dont make finals we have a TON of leftovers. When we dont (make finals) we started doing on-sites for our friends and families and other special guests a few years back. They get the whole on-site finals experience and we get the practice. If we have enough, and if they want it, we'll send them packing sometimes with entire whole shoulders, but usually no less than a few gallon bags packed tightly with meat. Last time I had the wonderful experience to do this for my wifes ex; he had 2 gentlemen from China in visiting the states; sales call. We did the whole shin-dig with a whole shoulder for each (but we did have beer for them as well). Ends up her ex thanked me because they loved it so much they agreed to the sale (multi-million dollar sell) that night.

Yeah, we've given comp Q to family... They loved it. So do our friends.

 

[Branded BBQ]

Last time I had the wonderful experience to do this for my wifes ex; he had 2 gentlemen from China in visiting the states; sales call. We did the whole shin-dig with a whole shoulder for each (but we did have beer for them as well). Ends up her ex thanked me because they loved it so much they agreed to the sale (multi-million dollar sell) that night.

Slathered in a nice X-lax based BBQ sauce! LOL... Seriously, good that you two get along like that... most don't.

 

[Lake Dogs]

He's a good guy, I think he'd say the same of me... During the comp we're all business, but afterwards, P A R T Y !!! We break out the Patron and have a good time... This time (example above) was very fun and cool. They spoke very little english, but they understood BBQ and cold beer just fine!

 

[LT72884]

The two teams you mention are two of the best in the west..R&R BBQ is hands down without question the best comp team to come out of Utah..period!..the second place team RNQ is the best team to come out of Az and had won more than any other Az team..ever!..these statements aren't a put down or insult to the other teams in those states..those are just the facts plain and simple..not at all surprised to see them both at the top at this comp..as far as someone "buying" other spots so others couldn't enter is two things..utterly stupid and completely irrelevant to winning..and lastly your food is in a blind box that goes to 6 random people and this happens 4 times(for a total of 24 people)and that food needs to be right in the middle to win..by that I mean a nice BBQ balance.

Yeah i saw Rythm and Q there as well as the twins. Im not saying it was them. What im saying was what the other winning teams had said about other winning teams, which leads me to believe that they are all pissed off at each other. The buying thing was what i have said many times already, it was something i have heard many a times from many a teams down here.

That is why i asked the question because i am asking brethren who have no relation to the teams here and can tell me which is bull sht and which is not bull sht. haha. So according to your post and many others, i believe i was stuck in the middle of a bull sht fest and teams pissed off at each other. hahaha. so im glad you guys are here to tell me what is going on so thank you much. i mean that

The twins, who own R and R bbq in slc are pretty cool. I have known them since 2007. The only issue i have ever had with them was when i first met them, i had not started bbq yet, they said this was there first year cooking and were still learning for comps. But then later on i find out they have been cooking for years so i was confused why they were not honost with me at the time. Other thatn that, i have been good friends with them and trying to get out of the bs fest haha.

OK Im done with the discussing this part of the thread. I really really want to move forward now.

Is there a specific person i need to speak with so we can judge as a guest to at least taste the Q and see how it is supposed to be done?

Will it cost me money to judge as a guest?

EDIT

Thanks for helping me filter through everything and teaching me the correct principles and if i came off as a jelous person, please forgive me, i just felt confused and to my surprise upset at things i have heard about comps. I was thinking it was the teams way of scaring off newbies so there is no more compitition.. sorry for any upset feelings this may have caused.

 

[LT72884]

+1 above. As much as we can describe the different aspects of it, you'll never come away with anything accurate without experiencing it first hand. Go, judge. That will probably answer 80% of your questions.

awesome. see i was unawre that we could taste the turn ins. I dont want to judge it, just taste it to see for myself. haha. Ok so this is his first step to learning to compete better. He needs to taste the entries. haha. thanks for this tip guys. this will help him alot.

 

[timzcardz]

haha

 

[ITBFQ]

You can't just go and "taste" entries at a comp. You have to become a certified judge. go here http://www.kcbs.us/classes.php and look for a class that is near you. Take the class, then apply to judge at a comp. Don't tell the organizer "I need to judge so I can taste comp bbq." Ask them if they need any judges. Sometimes they take a few backup certified judges just in case of a no-show on the day of the comp. They can always use some help, so even if you don't get to judge, you may be asked to help at the turn in table, etc. Sometimes the volunteers get to sample from the "grazing table" after judging is over. Anyway man, good luck. I am about done reading this thread, my brain hurts.